I think the problem is more serious than that: it looks like Obama seriously believes in supply side economics and the "reasonable" thing to do if he does believe in it is to lower the corporate taxrates to whatever is under the current highest personal taxbracket simply to tell the smart money to go into the real economy instead of the pockets of rich private citizens. There is really a method to the madness.

The really bad thing about that of course is what Cenk said: it will work for a while, until the lobbyists put back all the loopholes but by then supply side economics scored another PR victory. This will go on until we all end up in bread lines or reeducation work camps in alaska.

he lowered top personal rates to be under the corporate rates: big difference! Obama will do the "opposite": lower corporate rates under top personal rates and it will work...for a while. That's the worst thing about it since it will legitimize supply side against the "liberal keynesian stimulus spending" we supposedly had the last 2 years. Of course the last 2 years we also had tax rates that actively worked to undermine the stimulus, that's why this is so cynical.

He did it while leaving Bush's supply side fiscal policy in place basically telling corporations: "here is a pile of cash, pay your execs a nice bonus because you'll keep getting the 2001-03 tax benefits for doing so whereas if you try to hire workers we'll hit you with the 1990s corporate tax rate".

He practically achieved 2 results with this policy:

A) He kept Bush's econ policies in place for 4 more years

while also

B) discrediting "liberal Keynesian policies" once and for all, to the point where many liberals are now parroting the supply side corporate taxcuts as a "great idea" from Obama and no one is talking about the "People's Budget" as a serious alternative to that.

Bush couldn't have achieved such a PR double whammy on behalf of Milton Friedman and Augusto Pinochet if he was Reagan's clone, let alone the fumbling buffoon that he was.

Lowering the corporate tax while taking out loopholes will have a tremendous effect on American industry growth, which will add jobs like nothing else the government could possibly do.

I think it would be great to see an increase to bill clinton levels when it comes to PERSONAL income taxes, but it is not advisable to increase corporate taxes.

In all actuality, this is a powerful move and what a president like George Bush could have done to actually have a successful presidency, instead of launching incredibly expensive wars and lowering everyones taxes in a completely unsustainable way.

We need to understand that american corporations obviously are the main reason for our countrys strength and riches. There is a difference between a corporation and a rich individual. A corporation can benefit all its stockholders and the entire economy by increasing profits and competitiveness. A massively rich individuals coffers can afford to take a larger tax hit without affecting everything else.

Higher personal income tax for rich people, lower and more fair taxes for businesses. I would say that's Baracks ultimate plan.

It's not that Cenks heart isn't in the right place, it's just that I think he's into politics from an emotional prospective (like many people here at democratic underground) and I don't think he has much of an understanding of macroeconomics.

People would do well to think about the Obama quote where he's talking about how he was like a monk, holed up in the library at Columbia. This is a guy who obviously thoroughly examined the intellectual territory he would be working in. He gets the reality we live in.

Wild eyed "idealism" is not what America needs in order to put us on the right track economically and politically. We needed a president who has strong ideals and values, but also a very sharp understanding of how far those ideals are from reality and what is required to actually achieve things in the real world. We got that with Obama, but of course, many of us have delusional fantasies about what can be done and so we believe the sky is falling because we aren't all dancing in the streets singing kumbya and living in paradise on earth by now.

15. Obama will be reelected as a result at the expense of liberal ideas

while validating supply side economics. It will be devastating because the next republican will just repeat Bush's move and lower personal rates to be under the new lower corporate rates and another liberal will simply eliminate all corporate taxrates. At the end of all of this is the supply side wet dream: a complete elimination of the public sector with the active participation of "both sides".

Except the poor and the dwindling remains of the middle class -- they'll be miserable and living in poverty. But who cares about those bums! They obviously didn't "work hard" to get millionaire status.

just because they either don't understand or don't agree with ECON101. I am still awaiting people to explain a "wide eyed" liberal like myself how is Obama's economic agenda going to lead to anything but a right wing "small government" nightmare?! and why is he not standing up for Clinton style DNC liberalism from 1993?! I don't demand the pres to start hugging trees and sing kumbaya with flowerchildren! all I am asking for is a halfway decent liberal fiscal and monetary policy! So please stop with the caricature of liberal ideas!

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